Compensation Resources

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UUA Compensation Standards

Our UUA Compensation Standards provide information on each of the following:

  • Requirements (legal must-do's!) for Pay and Benefits Administration
  • UUA Salary and Benefit Recommendations to help you attract and retain excellent staff
  • Compensation Process Guidance, to ground your compensation decisions and actions in equity and transparency.

Salary and Payroll

Our Salary and Payroll Resources will help you establish appropriate salaries and benefits, understand worker classification, follow wage and hour law, and apply ministerial tax provisions to your minister's payroll.

Benefits

Recommended Benefit Levels

UUA Benefit Recommendations (one component of the UUA Compensation Standards above) summarize UUA guidance on benefit levels for your staff.

This Compensation Worksheet (Excel)  will help you budget for benefits for each of your staff positions, based on UUA recommendations.

Benefits Offered by the UUA

The UUA sponsors robust, competitive benefit plans that reflect UU values, helping congregational staff protect their income and save for the future. Learn about the UUA Retirement Plan, as well as our Health, Dental, Life Insurance, and Long-Term Disability insurances.

Understanding and Administering UUA Benefits

This Benefits Summary Chart (PDF)  provides an overview of eligibility, enrollment windows, and congregational requirements for all of our benefit plans.

Our popular Benefits Tune-up Workbook is designed to help you learn and follow UUA benefit plan rules, as well as ensure that you have good protocol in place for benefits administration.

We created this Insurance and Retirement Plan Rules Chart (PDF) to help you keep track of distinctions between the rules of our insurance plans and our retirement plan.

Please use this Employee Benefit Change Form to report any kind of employee change affecting insurance, including changes in hours or salary. (For employees changing congregations, see the Transitioning Benefits  page.)

More Compensation-Related Resources

UUA Compensation Consultants, regionally-based and available to your congregation at no charge, help congregational leaders understand the UUA Compensation Standards and navigate the complexity of ministerial and staff compensation, benefits, and employment agreements.

Employee Professional Expense Allowances can be used by professionals for certain business-related expenses and are not reported for income tax purposes. Make sure you are following IRS Accountable Reimbursement Plan rules.

These Compensation Pointers and Pitfalls Webinar Slides (PDF) and recording (YouTube) are from our September 2020 webinar on compensation administration. They cover worker classification, ministerial tax provisions, benefits administration, and more.

About the Authors

Jan Gartner

Jan is passionate about helping congregations live out their values within their walls!...

UUA Office of Church Staff Finances, Ministries and Faith Development

The UUA Office of Church Staff Finances states its own mission as follows: Guided by the values of our faith, we equip congregations for excellence as employers and their staff for financial competence and well-being. Information, services, and programs are provided to congregational leaders and...

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